1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to window drapery hardware, and more specifically to drapery rods and their mounting brackets.
2. Prior Art
Drapery is used as a window enhancement for decorative purposes as well as for insulation, to provide privacy, and to control natural light. Drapery rods of a variety of shapes and sizes have been designed to support drapery or the structures to which the drapery is attached. Traverse rods, for example, are rectangular and hold drapery pins and hooks while drapery rings are frequently used with circular rods. The rods may consist of a single bar or a plurality of typically telescoping bars, and like the drapery they support, may be designed for aesthetic appeal as well as functionality. Designers and inventors have adorned the rods with decorative hardware, modified their surfaces, used attractive materials, and created innovative methods of enhancing aesthetics while maintaining functionality. U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,708 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,520, for example, offer rods that function smoothly despite the presence of decorative material on their surface, U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,249 conceals center-support brackets, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,218 allows the use of plastic materials while maintaining the aesthetic features that have been designed for drapery rods.
Drapery rods are most often mounted to a substantially parallel vertical support surface such as a wall. A first member base plate typically engages the wall while a third member engages the rod with what is generally some sort of clip or socket structure. A second member connects the two, establishes the distance between the wall and the rod, and may engage the under surface of the rod. The needs for easy horizontal adjustment of the second member and vertical adjustment of the base plate have long been addressed by inventors in the industry (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,294 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,091). More recently, inventors have turned their attention to making brackets more adaptable rather than more adjustable. U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,295 offers a bracket adaptable to either mini-blinds or curtain rods, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,552 offers one adaptable to both the roman shade and the crisscross curtain singularly and in combination. Another recent invention, U.S. Pat. No. 7,861,989, offers a bracket which can mount to a wall, ceiling, or opposing surfaces by adding or removing some parts of the bracket. This is significant since the mounting of a rod to opposing surfaces previously required a bracket like U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,978 quite different from those used for ceiling or wall mounting. However, a multi-purpose bracket that does not require parts to be changed out for different surfaces would be preferred, and for reasons to be described, a multipurpose bracket is also needed that prevents circular rods from rotating. U.S. Pat. No. 7,861,989 does not fulfill these needs.
Inventors have achieved considerable success in improving the aesthetics of single-drapery rods and the functionality of mounting brackets, with some noted limitations, but the layering of drapery continues to be plagued by long standing problems. These problems are inherent in the standard double-traverse rod and the generally more decorative double rod and bracket system used for layering drapery. The standard double-traverse system supports two parallel traverse rods behind aesthetically unappealing front and side panels. The double rod and bracket system consists of two parallel traverse or non-traverse rods with exposed ends supported by a double-bracket. For aesthetic reasons, the ends of the rods are often adorned with expensive hardware and the double brackets are often decoratively constructed. Both the standard double-traverse rod and the double rod and bracket system are used to layer primary drapery in front of what is typically sheer secondary drapery, but the more decorative double rod and bracket system is favored when layering secondary accent drapery in front of primary drapery. It, too, has aesthetic problems however. The front rod may be made in a variety of appealing shapes and colors, often at great expense, but it still unnecessarily obstructs the view of the primary drapery. And the exposed ends of the two rods and the gaps between them are difficult if not impossible to make aesthetically appealing, particularly when viewed from the side.
The aesthetic problems encountered in supporting layered drapery have led the industry to market extensive and expensive collections of decorative hardware; designers to use additional drapery to hide the ends of the rods and the gaps between them; and contractors to build custom valences in front and to the side of the rods. The approaches are costly and fail to solve the inherent problems they try to hide. Inventors have likewise failed to develop an aesthetically appealing alternative support structure that layers drapery without the need for an obtrusive front rod, aesthetically unappealing panels, or the exposed ends of two rods. U.S. Pat. No. 7,648,111 allows additional drapery rods to be supported on the main brackets of a main drapery rod installation and U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,474 offers a bracket which can be adapted to support a single or double drapery rod, but although both ease installation concerns, they maintain the essential features of the double rod and bracket system. U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,597 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,094 offer intrinsically different systems, but are not appropriate for layering accent drapery in front of primary drapery or for layering primary drapery in front of secondary drapery. U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,597 provides a single aesthetically appealing rod which encases two rods, but their close proximity is inappropriate for the layering of drapery. U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,094 suffers a similar problem, arraying multiple rods in an inappropriate spatial relationship of close vertical and horizontal proximity. The resulting unsatisfied desire to layer accent drapery to the side and in front of primary drapery without a view-obstructing front rod has led some in desperation to hang accent drapery to the side and on the same rod as primary drapery, but this too obviously fails to provide an appropriately layered look.
A dual-drapery rod is needed which layers accent drapery to the side and in front of primary drapery without an obtrusive front rod and without the exposed ends of two rods or unattractive front and side panels to mar the aesthetic appeal of the drapery. The aim is to display the drapery—not the rods. A dual-drapery rod is also needed which layers fully drawable primary drapery in front of secondary drapery. Ideally one type of dual-drapery rod would be easily assembled from the other or from an existing single-drapery rod. A single-drapery rod assembly is also needed that can be easily mounted to a ceiling or to a parallel or opposing vertical support surface using an inconspicuous bracket requiring little or no modification to adapt to differently-angled support surfaces.
Another need relates to the motorization of drapery rods. Electric remote controlled mechanisms for operating traverse rods have appeared on the market in increasing numbers of late, but the functionally effective ones are expensive and difficult to install. The small light-weight motors deemed necessary are themselves very expensive, and few can be attached to an existing rod. Operational inefficiency has also been a problem. US 2006/0162877 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,576 B2 can be attached to existing traverse rods, and the latter does improve the functioning of the drive pulley with a more complex double wheel system. But the performance of both inventions, like that of previous art, is still hindered by redirections of the traverse rod's transmission cord. The cord is redirected from a horizontal direction to a vertical one before engaging the drive pulley system, then redirected back from vertical to horizontal before returning to the traverse rod. Structural complexity and cost are increased as well as wear and tear and slippage of the transmission cord. Operational efficiency and effectiveness continue to decrease over time as the cord becomes smoother and smoother. A motorized assembly is needed which is structurally simpler, does not require the redirection of transmission cords done in prior art, is easy to install on existing traverse rods, and can support and utilize a relatively inexpensive motor effectively and aesthetically.
The present invention offers a multi-purpose drapery rod system which provides a superior platform for single and layered drapery that is easily convertible from one to the other and is made possible by unique rod and cooperating bracket construction. The single-drapery rod has a flexible bracketing system which can attach the rod to not only substantially parallel support surfaces such as walls, but also to ceilings and to opposing support surfaces such as those found with recessed windows. The ends of the rod can also be attached at different heights on opposed or parallel vertical support surfaces, making it adaptable to non-rectangular windows, recessed or not. The single-drapery rod is easily converted to a dual-drapery rod which provides a continuous platform for drapery from the back to the front, thereby eliminating the need for side panels or the display of the exposed ends of a separate front and back rod. The dual-drapery rod doesn't require a view-obstructing front bar when layering accent drapery in front of primary drapery but does provide one for layering primary drapery in front of what is typically sheer or more translucent secondary drapery. The back, front, and curved sections which connect the substantially straight front and back sections are secured in a horizontal plane by unique brackets which unobtrusively but efficiently and effectively engage the rod and support surfaces.
The present invention also provides a motorized assembly which can be attached to an existing traverse rod and integrated with a dual-drapery rod when desired. The easy to install assembly is structurally simple, does not require redirection of transmission cords, and can aesthetically and more effectively utilize a bigger and heavier but less expensive motor than available alternatives.
3. Objects and Advantages
The multi-purpose drapery rod system offers:    1) a dual-drapery rod assembly comprised of a uniquely constructed dual-drapery rod and bracket, which cooperate to more aesthetically and economically layer primary and secondary drapery;    2) modular Type 1 and Type 2 embodiments that layer drapery from the front, back, and sides and easily convert from one to the other, Type 1 rods layering accent drapery in front of primary drapery without an obstructing front rod and Type 2 rods layering secondary drapery behind fully drawable primary drapery;    3) modular Type 1 and Type 2 embodiments that easily convert existing engageable single-drapery rods into dual-drapery rods;    4) a single-drapery rod with unique cooperating mounting brackets that can be inconspicuously affixed to surfaces lying at nearly any angle to the rod;    5) modular embodiments that easily convert this unique single-drapery rod into Type 1 or Type 2 embodiments;    6) and a conversion assembly that motorizes a single traverse rod and can convert it into a dual-drapery rod when desired.